Carton with dispenser

Abstract

A carton for holding and dispensing at least one article includes a plurality of panels extending at least partially around an interior of the carton and including a front panel, a back panel, and at least one side panel, a plurality of end flaps foldably connected to respective panels of the plurality of panels for forming at least one closed end of the carton, and a dispenser for accessing the interior of the carton, the dispenser including a dispenser opening in the top panel, a first article engaging member attached to the top panel, and a second article engaging member attached to the top panel, the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member arranged in at least partial overlapping relation to define a dispenser path from the interior of the carton to an exterior environment around the carton, at least one of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member comprises a composite material.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A carton for holding and dispensing at least one article, the carton comprising:
 a plurality of panels extending at least partially around an interior of the carton, the plurality of panels comprising a front panel, a back panel, a top panel, and a bottom panel; a plurality of end flaps foldably connected to a respective panel of the plurality of panels and forming at least one closed end of the carton; and 
 a dispenser for accessing the interior of the carton, the dispenser comprising a dispenser opening in the top panel, a first article engaging member attached to the top panel, and a second article engaging member attached to the top panel, the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member arranged in at least partial overlapping relation to form an overlapping region defining a dispenser path the dispenser path allowing the at least one article to be withdrawn through the overlapping region between the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member and from the interior of the carton to an exterior environment around the carton, each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member comprising at least one of clay-coated paperboard, solid bleached board (SBB) paperboard, solid bleached sulphate (SBS) paperboard, or kraft liner paperboard, wherein first article engaging member has a first free edge and the second article engaging member has a second free edge spaced apart from the first free edge of the first article engaging member to define the overlapping region of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member and wherein each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member at least partially overlap the dispenser opening. 
 
     
     
       2. The carton of  claim 1 , wherein each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member are at least partially positioned in the interior of the carton. 
     
     
       3. The carton of  claim 2 , wherein each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member are attached to an interior surface of the top panel. 
     
     
       4. The carton of  claim 2 , wherein the dispenser further comprises a dispenser panel separably connected to the top panel such that the dispenser panel is separable from the top panel to expose the dispenser opening. 
     
     
       5. The carton of  claim 4 , wherein the dispenser panel includes a relief cut spaced away from the top panel. 
     
     
       6. The carton of  claim 1 , wherein the overlapping region is positioned overlapping a portion of the dispenser opening. 
     
     
       7. The carton of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one closed end of the carton is a first closed end of the carton, and the plurality of end flaps are overlapped to form a second closed end of the carton. 
     
     
       8. The carton of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of panels, the plurality of end flaps, and the dispenser are devoid of polymeric material. 
     
     
       9. A blank for forming a carton for holding and dispensing at least one article, the blank comprising:
 a plurality of panels for extending at least partially around an interior of the carton formed from the blank, the plurality of panels comprising a front panel, a back panel, a top panel, and a bottom panel; 
 a plurality of end flaps foldably connected to a respective panel of the plurality of panels for forming at least one closed end of the carton formed from the blank; and 
 
       dispenser features for forming a dispenser for accessing the interior of the carton formed from the blank, the dispenser features comprising a dispenser opening in the top panel, a first article engaging member attached to the top panel, and a second article engaging member attached to the top panel, the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member arranged in at least partial overlapping relation to form an overlapping region defining a dispenser path the dispenser path allowing the at least one article to be withdrawn through the overlapping region between the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member and from the interior of the carton formed from the blank to an exterior environment around the carton formed from the blank, each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member comprising at least one of clay-coated paperboard, solid bleached board (SBB) paperboard, solid bleached sulphate (SBS) paperboard, or kraft liner paperboard, wherein each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member at least partially overlap the dispenser opening, and wherein the first article engaging member has a first free edge and the second article engaging member has a second free edge spaced apart from the first free edge of the first article engaging member to define the overlapping region of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member. 
     
     
       10. The blank of  claim 9 , wherein each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member are for being at least partially positioned in the interior of the carton formed from the blank. 
     
     
       11. The blank of  claim 10 , wherein each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member are attached to an interior surface of the top panel. 
     
     
       12. The blank of  claim 10 , wherein the dispenser features further comprises a dispenser panel separably connected to the top panel such that the dispenser panel is separable from the top panel to expose the dispenser opening when the dispenser is formed. 
     
     
       13. The blank of  claim 12 , wherein the dispenser panel includes a relief cut spaced away from the top panel. 
     
     
       14. The blank of  claim 9 , wherein the overlapping region is positioned overlapping a portion of the blank opening. 
     
     
       15. The blank of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one closed end of the carton formed from the blank is a first closed end of the carton formed from the blank, and the plurality of end flaps are for being overlapped to form a second closed end of the carton formed from the blank. 
     
     
       16. The blank of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of panels, the plurality of end flaps, and the dispenser features are devoid of polymeric material. 
     
     
       17. A method of forming a carton for holding and dispensing at least one article, the method comprising:
 obtaining a blank comprising a plurality of panels, a plurality of end flaps, and dispenser features, the plurality of panels comprising a front panel, a back panel, a top panel, and a bottom panel, the dispenser features comprising a dispenser opening in the top panel, a first article engaging member attached to the top panel, and a second article engaging member attached to the top panel, the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member arranged in at least partial overlapping relation; 
 folding the plurality of panels at least partially around an interior of the carton; overlapping the plurality of end flaps to form at least one closed end of the carton; and positioning the dispenser features to form a dispenser of the carton for accessing the interior of the carton and such that the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member are at least partially overlapped to form a dispenser path the dispenser path allowing the at least one article to be withdrawn through an overlapping region between the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member and from the interior of the carton to an exterior environment around the carton, each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member comprising at least one of clay-coated paperboard, solid bleached board (SBB) paperboard, solid bleached sulphate (SBS) paperboard, or kraft liner paperboard, wherein first article engaging member has a first free edge and the second article engaging member has a second free edge spaced apart from the first free edge of the first article engaging member to define the overlapping region of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member and wherein each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member at least partially overlap the dispenser opening. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein positioning the dispenser features comprises positioning each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member at least partially in the interior of the carton. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein each of the first article engaging member and the second article engaging member are attached to an interior surface of the top panel. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 18 , wherein the dispenser features further comprise a dispenser panel separably connected to the top panel such that the dispenser panel is separable from the top panel to expose the dispenser opening when the dispenser is formed. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 20 , wherein the dispenser panel includes a relief cut spaced away from the top panel. 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the overlapping region is positioned overlapping a portion of the dispenser opening. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one closed end of the carton is a first closed end of the carton, and overlapping the plurality of end flaps further comprises forming a second closed end of the carton. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of panels, the plurality of end flaps, and the dispenser are devoid of polymeric material.